Device for driving holes in the ground

ABSTRACT

A device for driving holes is provided with a crankshaft on which accommodated on respective crankspins with a provision for free rotation, is a cone-shaped member at the front end followed by a succession of tapered rollers which are the transverse parts of a conically shaped body. The apparatus is provided with means ensuring its longitudinal travel in the hole. When the crankshaft is rotated, the cone-shaped member and tapered rollers start rolling over the wall of the hole, gradually enlarging the latter and compacting the wall by laterally displacing the ground. The device is capable of driving holes with a diameter as large as 800 mm in any compactable ground thus, producing firm and stable walls.

United States Patent Svirschevsky et a1.

DEVICE FOR DRIVING HOLES IN THE GROUND Inventors: ValentinKonstantinovich Svirschevsky, Krasny prospekt, 98, kv. 103; AnatolyAlexandrovich Orekhov, ulitsa Zorge, 257, kv. 13; Boris GrigorievichTregubov, ulitsa Cheljuskintsev, 44, kv. 37; Andrei Alexeevich Trofimuk,ulitsa Zolotodolinskaya, 87, all of Novosibirsk, U.S.S.R.

Filed: July 31, 1974 Appl. No.: 493,733

US. Cl. 175/19; 175/55; 175/94; 175/106 Int. Cl. E2113 11/02 Field ofSearch 175/19, 20, 21, 55, 106, 175/96, 348, 345, 346, 347, 334, 335,343, 349, 97, 98, 94

1,179,342 4/1916 Wittich 175/94 X 1,772,491 8/1930 Koppl 175/347 X1,805,087 5/1931 l-lamer 175/345 X 2,124,414 7/1938 Goldman 175/3342,919,121 12/1959 Ruth 175/94 X Primary ExaminerErnest R. PurserAssistant Examiner-Richard E. Favreau Attorney, Agent, or Firml-lolman &Stern [57] ABSTRACT A device for driving holes is provided with acrankshaft on which accommodated on respective crankspins with aprovision for free rotation, is a coneshaped member at the front endfollowed by a succession of tapered rollers which are the transverseparts of a conically shaped body. The apparatus is provided with meansensuring its longitudinal travel in the hole. When the crankshaft isrotated, the cone-shaped member and tapered rollers start rolling overthe wall of the hole, gradually enlarging the latter and compacting thewall by laterally displacing the ground. The device is capable ofdriving holes with a diameter as large as 800 mm in any compactableground thus, producing firm and stable walls.

8 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 Sheet 2 of 33,926,267

US. Patent Dec. 16, 1975 Sheet 3 of3 3,926,267

DEVICE FOR DRIVING HOLES IN THE GROUND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to rolling holes underground and morespecifically to devices for rolling holes in the ground, particularly bycompacting the ground without the removal thereof.

PRIOR ART These techniques are used at present for driving holes with adiameter of up to 500 mm, using machines of the percussion type whichhave come into widespread application. Such machines feature a pointedcylindrical body containing a percussion mechanism serving to force themachine into the ground which is displaced and compacted by the walls ofmachine body.

Similar holes are driven by forcing a cone-shaped member into the groundwith the aid of hydraulic jacks installed on the surface of the collar.

Practical experience shows that such devices cannot be used for drivingholes over 500 mm in diameter due to a sharp increase in the resistanceof the ground, resulting in a failure of the machine.

Also known is a method of driving holes without the removal of ground,in which the latter is gradually compacted by enlarging the hole withthe aid. of a coneshaped member describing a spatial spiral whilerotating about an axis which is in fact the longitudinal axis of thehole being driven. The device embodying said method consists of acylindrical body carrying at its fore end, a cone-shaped member mountedon a crankshaft and moving along a spatial spiral line in the wayabove-described. The cylindrical body contains a drive causing thecrankshaft to rotate and the device to progress longitudinally.

A disadvantage of said device resides in the unbalance of the forcesacting on the working member and which unbalance results in the devicebeing extremely hard to operate.

Also known is a device for driving holes by compacting the groundwithout removal thereof, in which a pilot auger is provided at the foreend which is forced into the ground and loosens the same. Disposed inthe wake of the auger are tapered rollers which diverge outwardly andare arranged all the way along a circle described about the longitudinalaxis of the device. The rollers are free to rotate on their fulcrum pinsand the pins in their turn are capable of rotating about thelongitudinal axis of device coincident with the center line of thedesired hole. The device is propelled by a drive at the surface whichsets the auger into motion, rotates the tapered rollers as describedabove and causes the device to progress longitudinally. The augerpenetrates and loosens the ground and the tapered rollers apparentlyserve to compact this ground by pressing it laterally into the walls ofthe hole.

A disadvantage of said device is in its inability to form firm walls inthe hole because the diameter of compacting tapered rollers is by farsmaller than that of the hole enlarged by rolling. According to theauthors concept, arranged in the cross-section of the hole, are morethan one compacting roller and voids of considerable extent are formedbetween the rollers, with the result that the earth often caves off thewall.

Also known are devices for enlarging pre-drilled vertical boreholes. Insaid devices, the working member is 2. a pointed cylindrical bodyattached to a universal-joint shaft and actuated by a drive installed atthe surface. The device advances longitudinally by gravity. The boreholeis enlarged due to the centrifugal forces promoted by the rotatingpointed cylinder as it rolls on the interior surface of the hole.

Said devices have failed to come into practical application as a meansof enlarging holes because the working member must be rotated at a speedsufficiently high to produce centrifugal forces of a magnitude capableof compacting the ground as required. An increase in the speed of theworking member brings about a sharp increase in the resistance of groundto a point which renders the apparatus incapable of operation.

In addition, known in the art are devices for drilling verticalboreholes. Each device is provided withv a cutter head serving as thedrill and a tapered roller for compacting the soil loosened by thecutter head. Said roller is attached to a crank-shaft which also impartsrotary motion to the cutter about an axis practically coincident withthe center line of the borehole. Longitudinal advance of the device inthe borehole is also due to gravity.

A disadvantage of said devices resides in a low efficiency resultingfrom the unbalance of the forces acting on the working member which isthe cutter head in conjunction with the tapered roller.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the presentinvention to provide a device for rolling holes in the ground with adiameter of at least 500 mm, with a simultaneous compaction of theground in the hole to a sufficient degree so as to obtain firm andlasting walls.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device toincrease the efficiency of hole formation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device toreduce the power requirements of the device.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide aself-propelled device adapted to perform both advancing and retreatingmovements and to eliminate the need in additional means of moving thedevice in the hole, particularly when recovering it from the hole uponcompleting the rolling operation.

Other objects and advantages will become evident from the description ofthe present invention.

These objects are attained in a device for rolling holes in the groundwith the aid of a cone-shaped member disposed at the front end of thedevice on a crankshaft and forced into the ground as the device islongitudinally advanced behind the cone-shaped member in which there is,according to the invention, a succession of tapered rollers freelyrotating on respective crankpins, with said rollers being substantiallyindividual parts of a conically shaped body.

An arrangement of this character enables the compacting of ground to beeffectively performed and to a requisite degree by gradually enlargingthe hole with the aid of a succession of tapered rollers withprogressively increasing diameters. Furthermore, since in each crosssection of the hole, there is only one compacting tapered roller, eachof the successively arranged rollers can be .of a diameter sufficientlylarge to occupy almost all the cross-section area, with the possibilityof the ground falling off the wall being eliminated during the processof enlarging the hole by each of the rollers and a high degree ofcompacting of the ground at the rollers 3. is also attainable.

To facilitate the advancing of the device into the ground,- it ispreferred to dispose the crankpins at an angle to the longitudinal axisof the device in a plane which is substantially parallel to said axis.

To ensure optimal balance of the rotating components of the device andeliminate any runout of said components, it is expedient to dispose thecrankpins spatially with respect to the longitudinal axis of the deviceand pairwise in opposite phases.

This feature of the crankshaft construction reduces spatial oscillationsof the longitudinal axis of the device to a negligibly small magnitudeduring the driving operation with the result that each roller is loadedmore evenly and a high driving rate is achieved.

The device is made self-advancing by preferably having the crankshaftformed by two concentrically disposed sections, with the tapered rollersbeing attached to'both concentric sections and the crankpins of one ofthe concentric sections being disposed with respect to the longitudinalaxis of the device at an angle which is opposite to the angle at whichthe crankpins of the other concentric section are arranged and theoutside concentric section is rigidly attached to the casing of thedrive.

Another way of imparting to the apparatus the ability to advance byitself is to provide the drive imparting motion to the crankshaft anddisposed in close proximity to the body of the device, is a contrivancefor holding fast the drive against the wall so as to prevent it fromrotation. In a preferred embodiment, said contrivance for fixing thedrive against rotation consists of radial projections on the casing ofthe drive. In another embodiment, said contrivance consists of wheelsdisposed radially on the drive.

To enable the device to be self-propelling not only when advancing butalso when withdrawing from the hole, it is expedient to link up movablythe drive of the crankshaft with cylindrical rollers whose axes aredisposed at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the device in differentplanes which are substantially parallel to said axis. The cylindricalrollers in turn must be movably linked with the crankshaft.

To prevent the ground from peeling off the wall, it is expedient to lineor cover the surface of the tapered rollers in contact with the wallwith a resilient material.

The present invention will be best understood from the followingdetailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof when read inconjunction with accompanying drawings. in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a devicefor rolling holes in the ground, according to the invention, shown inthe hole;

FIG. 2 is an embodiment of the device in which the crank-shaft is madewith the crankpins disposed at an angle to the longitudinal axis of thedevice;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the spatial arrangement ofthe tapered rollers pairwise in opposite phases;

FIG. 4 is another embodiment of the device in which the crankshaft ismade up of two concentric sections;

FIG. 5 is a section on line V'V of FIG. 1 illustrating a method offixing the casing of the drive to the wall of FIG. 7 is a side elevationof the device in a further embodiment according to the invention with aprovision for traveling in reverse;

FIG. 8 is a section on line VIIIVIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is one of the cylindrical rollers of FIG. 7 shown turned throughan angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the device; and

FIG. 10 is a side view partly in section of the device for rolling holesin still another embodiment according to the invention in which thesurface of tapered rollers is lined or covered with a resilientmaterial.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS The apparatus for rolling holesin the ground incorporates a crankshaft 1 (FIGS. 1, 2, 7, 8 and 10)accommodating on the crankpins a freely rotating coneshaped member 2(FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 10) at the front end followed by what is asuccession of tapered rollers 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 which are, in essence,transverse parts of a conically shaped body.

The crankshaft 1 is rotated and the device is longitudinally advanced bymeans of a self-contained drive at the surface (not shown).

If the crankpins of the crankshaft 1 are arranged at a certain angle a(FIG. 2) with respect to a longitudinal geometrical axis 8 (FIGS. 1, 2,3, 4, 6, 7 and 9) in planes which are parallel to said axis 8, thisarrangement substantially facilitates the driving of the device into theground; (The angle a is shown in FIG. 2 out of true proportions as anangle formed by a normal N to the longitudinal geometrical axis 8 and avector V of the linear velocity at which the hole is enlarged by thecorresponding rolling roller 4).

If the crankshaft 1 is rotated from a drive 9, 9a (FIGS. 1 and 6)arranged in a hole 10 next to the device and the casing of the drive 9,9a is provided with means preventing its rotation in the hole 10 (FIGS.1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10), the device becomes self-propelled in thedirection of driving. As said means for preventing the casing of thedrive from rotation can be either projections 11 (FIGS. 1 and 5)extending radially or wheels 12 (FIG. 6) also installed radially.

During the driving operation, said projections 11 or wheels 12 preventthe casing of the drive 9 from rotation. This feature in conjunctionwith the above construction of the crankshaft 1 when the crankpins aredisposed at an angle a to the longitudinal geometrical axis 8 of thedevice provides for the self-screwing of the body of the device into theground without being forced thereinto axially from the outside. Theangle a is about l wide.

Another way of rendering the device self-propelled is to make thecrankshaft 1a (FIG. 4) in two concentric sections 13 and 14,accommodating the tapered rollers 5, 6 and 7 on the section 13, whilethe cone-shaped member 2 and the tapered rollers 3 and 4 are mounted onthe section 14 of the shaft 1. In this case, the concentric section 13is rigidly attached to the casing of the drive 9a and rotates integrallywith the same. The crankpins 15 of the concentric section 13 and thecrankpins 16 of the concentric section 14 are to be disposedwith respectto the longitudinal axis 8 of the device so 'as to intersect the axis atangles a, and 04 (FIG. 4), respectively, which are each about l wide butof opposite directions. (The anglesoz and 11 are shown in FIG. 4 out oftrue proportions in the same way as the angle a in FIG. 2).

Due to the above arrangement the sections 13 and 14 of the crankshaft larotate, during driving, in opposite directions, causing the device toscrew into the ground and advance down the hole on its own. For thewithdrawal of the device in the above embodiments from the hole uponcompletion of the driving, recourse is made to conventional means.

To render the device self-propelling not only during the driving stagebut also for the withdrawal from the hole, it is suggested to connectthe crankshaft 1 to the drive 9a with the aid of cylindrical rollers 17(FIG. 7) arranged one along another all the way around a circledescribed about the longitudinal axis 8 of the device as shown in FIGS.7 and 8. The rollers 17 are free to rotate on their axes 18 and are alldriven in the same direction by a reversible drive 9a through gears 19.The ends of the axes 18 of the rollers 17 are rigidly secured to flanges20 and 21. The flange 21 is rigidly attached to the crankshaft 1 and theflange 20 to the casing of the reversible drive 9a so that rotation istransmitted to the crankshaft l.

The axes 18 of rollers form angles B with the longitudinal geometricalaxis 8 of the device (P16. 9) in different planes parallel to said axis.

By analogy with the angle a, the angle B does not exceed 1 and isdirected towards the rear end of the device.

By virtue of the above arrangement of the axes 18 at an angle B, thecylindrical rollers 17 serve as supports, permitting an effective torqueto be obtained at the crankshaft 1 when the drive shaft is rotated inone direction. If the drive is reversed, the same cylindrical rollerscause the device to screw on its own out of the ground so as to bewithdrawn from the hole under its own power without the use of anyadditional means.

In all embodiments of the invention it is expedient to arrange thecrankpins of the crankshaft 1 or 1a spatially pairwise in oppositephases with respect to the longitudinal geometrical axis 8, avoidingthereby the runout of the rotating components of the device, i.e., ofthe tapered rollers 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and the cone-shaped member 2.

To prevent the ground from peeling and falling off the wall of the holewhen moving through loose ground and give the wall a requisite amount ofcompactness and firmness, the surface of all tapered rollers in contactwith the wall of hole is preferably coated with a layer 22 (FIG. ofresilient material, e.g., rubber or the like.

Preparatory to rolling, a hole is made in the ground using an auger orsimilar drilling tool, of a length sufficient to accommodate three orfour foremost tapered rollers. Thereafter the drive is set intooperation, causing the crankshaft l or la to rotate. As a result, therollers 3 through 7 and the cone-shaped member 2 start rotating abouttheir own axes coinciding with the axes of the crankpins and about thelongitudinal geometrical axis 8 of the device. Since the device isadvancing in the hole under its own power or due to a drive of any otherkind, the rotary motion of the rollers is transformed into a motionalong a spiral so that the cone-shaped member 2 enters the ground andstarts initial rolling over the wall of the hole. The successive taperedrollers 3 through 7 one after another gradually enlarge the face. Aseach of the tapered rollers rolls over the face, it compacts the ground,giving the hole wall an adequately high amount of compactness andfirmness.

The disclosed device is capable of rolling holes with a diameter aslarge as 800 mm in any compactable ground, with the walls beingadequately firm and lasting. Such holes are suitable for layingpipelines, cables etc., and can serve the purpose of driving tunnels.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for rolling holes in the ground and said device having alongitudinal axis comprising: a crankshaft; substantially taperedrollers having a smooth surface, said tapered rollers being essentiallythe transverse parts of a comically-shaped body and mounted insuccession on said crankshaft; said tapered rollers having axes, theaxes of the tapered rollers being arranged at an angle to thelongitudinal axis ofthe device and disposed in planes essentiallyparallel to the longitudinal axis; and a drive having a casing, saiddrive imparting rotary motion to the crankshaft and axially displacingthe device in the hole.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the axes of said taperedrollers are disposed spatially and pairwise in opposite phases withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the device.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crankshaft is definedby two concentrically disposed inner and outer sections; the taperedrollers being arranged on both concentric sections so that the axes ofthe tapered rollers of one of the concentric sections are disposed at anangle to the longitudinal axis of the device, said angle being oppositeto the angle at which the axes of the tapered rollers of the otherconcentric section are disposed; and the outer concentric section of theshaft being rigidly attached to the casing of the drive.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the drive of crankshaft ismovably linked up with substantially cylindrical rollers having axes,the axes of the substantially cylindrical rollers being disposed at anangle to the longitudinal axis of the device in different planes whichare substantially parallel to said axis; and said substantiallycylindrical rollers being movably linked up with the crankshaft.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the surface of taperedrollers in contact with the hole wall is covered with a resilientmaterial.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drive is a reversibledrive disposed in close proximity to the device is provided with meansof securing the casing to the hole wall so as to prevent the casing fromrotation.

- 7. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein a means of securing thecasing of the drive so as to prevent rotation are projections disposedradially on the casing.

8. The device as claimed in claim 6 wherein the means of securing thecasing of drive so as to prev nt rotation are wheels disposed radiallyon the casing.

=l =l l

1. A device for rolling holes in the ground and said device having alongitudinal axis comprising: a crankshaft; substantially taperedrollers having a smooth surface, said tapered rollers being essentiallythe transverse parts of a conically-shaped body and mounted insuccession on said crankshaft; said tapered rollers having axes, theaxes of the tapered rollers being arranged at an angle to thelongitudinal axis of the device and disposed in planes essentiallyparallel to the longitudinal axis; and a drive having a casing, saiddrive imparting rotary motion to the crankshaft and axially displacingthe device in the hole.
 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein theaxes of said tapered rollers are disposed spatially and pairwise inopposite phases with respect to the longitudinal axis of the device. 3.The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the crankshaft is defined bytwo concentrically disposed inner and outer sections; the taperedrollers being arrAnged on both concentric sections so that the axes ofthe tapered rollers of one of the concentric sections are disposed at anangle to the longitudinal axis of the device, said angle being oppositeto the angle at which the axes of the tapered rollers of the otherconcentric section are disposed; and the outer concentric section of theshaft being rigidly attached to the casing of the drive.
 4. The deviceas claimed in claim 1 wherein the drive of crankshaft is movably linkedup with substantially cylindrical rollers having axes, the axes of thesubstantially cylindrical rollers being disposed at an angle to thelongitudinal axis of the device in different planes which aresubstantially parallel to said axis; and said substantially cylindricalrollers being movably linked up with the crankshaft.
 5. The device asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the surface of tapered rollers in contactwith the hole wall is covered with a resilient material.
 6. The deviceas claimed in claim 1, wherein the drive is a reversible drive disposedin close proximity to the device is provided with means of securing thecasing to the hole wall so as to prevent the casing from rotation. 7.The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein a means of securing the casingof the drive so as to prevent rotation are projections disposed radiallyon the casing.
 8. The device as claimed in claim 6 wherein the means ofsecuring the casing of drive so as to prevent rotation are wheelsdisposed radially on the casing.